Today’s Your Last Day to Have a Summer Cookout

Fall officially begins tomorrow, which means it's time for apples and squashes and pears and figs and pomegranates. As my last gasping attempt to hold onto summer, I uncovered the smoker on Saturday afternoon and grilled up these buffalo patties that I bought from the FreshFarm Market by the White House on Thursday. They're very lean, only about 5 percent fat, which meant they weren't as tasty as your average 80-20 blend. But they were flavorful enough after I put grilled tomatoes and red onions on them, particularly those patties that I managed to cook to temperature and not leave over the hot spot of the grill. How long does it take to learn the nuances of your damn smoker/grill?